Cleaved
by SolarSolstice
Summary: Holly Potter and Alex Kann's friendship should have ended at 11. Their futures lay in different worlds: witch and Muggle; magic and science; Scotland and London. Then Alex came up with the idea of selling potions to Muggles. Their waning bond is revived, but can it last while running a nascent illegal business, the challenges of school and new relationships? AU Years 2-4, Fem!Harry
1. Prologue Part I

**Author's Notes:**

**Redoing this fic after a lot of edits and going over my outline.**

**I'd like to thank the wonderful folks over at DLP (Halt, Blor, Taure, TMD, Niez, Thejabber and Vira) for giving me critical feedback with my first chapter and summary. It would be (and was!) a much poorer story without them.**

**Weirdhunterangel, elohiniar, vivithefolle, hunting-ataraxia, peetamaellark, hillnerd and ibelieveinsherlockholmes221b on Tumblr were also essential, giving feedback on character interactions and behaviour of seven to eleven-year-olds.**

* * *

**Prologue Part I: Before the Discovery**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 2nd September 2003**

Sniffling, Holly Potter ran under the big oak tree by the edge of the grounds, buried her head into her knees, and cried. Dudley ruined everything for her. He pushed her around, made fun of her clothes, took her food and even stole the snacks Aunt Petunia would give her once in a while if she didn't do anything "freakish". He always had to spoil her day.

Today was the first day of school. She was finally in year three and two new girls, Angela and Corey, wanted to play with her during break. It was so much fun until her cousin and his friends came and scared them away.

Holly looked up through her black hair and wiped her eyes but more tears fell. This wasn't the first time Dudley scared someone who wanted to be her friend away. Last year it was Emily. Two years ago it was Ava. They both stayed away from her now. The rest of their yearmates did, too. Why did he have to make her upset?

Because you're a freak, she thought, glaring at Dudley.

Dudley kicked a ball high into the air and one of his friends caught it. The boys laughed. She clenched her fists. All she wanted was a friend, someone to play with and share secrets with. Even Dudley, Piers Polkiss, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon had each other, and _nobody_ liked them.

_Nobody likes you either. _

Just as Dudley was about to kick again the ball split, sending him down with a yelp. Holly looked away. She'd done something 'freakish' again. She didn't know how. Whenever she got really angry, something odd would happen and she'd get in big trouble with her family. Her stomach hurt when she saw the break monitors checking over Dudley. What if they found out it was her?

"Are you okay?" said a red-haired boy, looking at her from a few feet away.

_Did he know it was her fault? _"Yes."

The boy kicked a nearby stone. "Are you _sure?_"

"Who asked you?" He was going to make fun of her. Dennis did it all the time so Dudley would laugh at her.

"Well, nobody. You just looked sad," he said as he sat down next to her.

"I'm not sad!" She turned away, wiping her cheeks. "Why don't you just leave me _alone!"_

The boy frowned. "Fine," he said, standing up. He brushed shed grass from his trousers and muttered, "Hope you feel better."

She stared at him in shock as he walked off before looking at Dudley again. He was holding up a piece of the shattered ball. A bunch of their yearmates surrounded him as he puffed out his chest and raised the ruined piece of rubber, like it was a big prize.

Her face soured. Now even _more_ people liked Dudley!

**~•~**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 3rd September 2003**

"Good morning," said the red-haired boy cheerfully the next morning, sitting in the empty desk next to her.

Holly frowned. It was the same boy from yesterday at break. "What are you doing here?"

"Sitting," he said and moved his desk closer. "What's your name?"

She narrowed her eyes. Seats slid _away_ from her, not towards her. "Why do you want to know?"

"'Cause I want to be friends."

Friends? This had to be a trick. No one wanted to be her friend. Not with Dudley around. "No."

"But you don't have any," the boy said, confused.

She ignored the pang in her chest and glared at him. She knew she didn't have friends! "I don't need any. Go away."

The boy's cheerful expression fell. "Okay." He took his bag and went to the next closest seat.

Holly leaned against the wall in the corner her desk was next to. The boy didn't want to be her friend. He was probably faking. Dennis did the same thing last year. He told her that he and Dudley weren't friends anymore and that he was sorry for teasing her. Then a few days later he told everyone about the scar on her forehead that she hated and that her Aunt and Uncle didn't get her anything for Christmas. Everybody teased her about it for the rest of the year.

But he didn't seem like the sort to trick her, she thought, looking at him. Could he be telling the truth?

Holly shook her head. No. The boy didn't like her. He'd go away soon enough.

**~•~**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 5th September 2003**

"Psst! Holly!" the boy stage-whispered.

Holly grit her teeth and pretended not to hear. Just keep working, she thought. He'll go away.

"Holly!"

"Mr Kann," said their teacher, Ms Michaels, from the front of the room. "Is your work complete?"

The boy nodded, holding up a neatly filled out Maths sheet with pride. "Yes Ms Michaels. I finished _five_ whole minutes ago!"

"I finished _five whole minutes_ ago," said Dudley to Piers in an over-the-top boastful tone as he covered his forehead with a fat hand, dramatically leaning back in his seat. "How will I live without work to do?"

Piers and several others laughed.

"What a swot."

The boy turned bright red.

"Mr Dursley, Mr Polkiss," she warned as she sent them a look.

When they went back to their work, Ms Michaels returned her attention to the boy. "If you've completed your work, remain quiet and do not distract your classmates. Do you understand?"

Kann stared at his desk. "Yes Ms Michaels," he muttered.

The room filled with titters before it went silent again. Holly didn't feel bad for him. Kann _had_ to be new. He should have known better. The only person that could be an annoying swot was Elizabeth Hughes, and that was because her parents gave money to the school every year. Even _Dudley_ left her alone.

She looked at him again. His face wasn't red anymore but he was still looking at his desk and twirled his pencil in his right hand. For the rest of class he didn't say a word, even though he clearly knew all the answers when they went over their classwork.

It couldn't hurt to say hello though, maybe during break? She shook off the thought. Today was Friday. By Monday he'd forget about her.

**~•~**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 10th September 2003 **

"Hi Holly!" said the annoying boy.

For whatever reason, Kann was _still_ talking to her. Every day he would walk in and sit next to her until she told him to leave her alone. He'd whisper to her, getting himself into trouble during class. He'd find her at break and share some odd fact about space—"Nobody knows how many stars there are up there"—before buggering off.

She was tired of it. He wouldn't leave her alone. How many times did she have to say it? _She didn't need friends!_

"Did you know that—"

"I don't want to talk to you," snapped Holly, throwing a ball against the tree.

"There's a planet that's made out of diamonds!"

"Yeah right." She threw the ball again. "Bother someone else."

"But—"

"Go away!" she yelled, slamming the ball on the grass.

"Woah," said Alex, watching the ball shoot up into the air like a rocket.

Holly paled.

"How'd you—"

"Hey freak!"

Uh-oh. Holly's stomach dropped when Dudley pranced over with his friends. "Give us the ball!" he said as he stretched out a chubby hand. "Or else!"

"Leave her alone!" said Kann.

"Shut up, no one was talking to you!" Gordon said.

Holly glared at Dudley. "What ball?"

Said ball fell back into her hands.

Dudley gave her an accusing glare and pointed. "That one!"

"Find your own!"

"No! I want it!"

She looked around. A few of their yearmates were watching what was happening, but none of them came to help.

"You can't have it, it's mine," she said, taking a step back.

Dudley cracked his knuckles. Holly swallowed. He wouldn't really hit her, would he? Boys weren't supposed to hit girls, Aunt Petunia always said so!

"Just leave us alone," the boy said.

"Bugger off, you stupid know-it-all," said Piers with a sneer. "This is between us and the weirdo."

Ignoring the laughter, Holly inched further away. If Kann was distracting Dudley, maybe she'd have a chance to get a break monitor.

"You can't tell us what to do," Kann said.

"Yes we can," Dudley said. The rest of his friends blocked the way, trapping them by the tree. "Why are you helping _her?_ Nobody likes her! That's why she's always by herself! Not even the _girls_ talk to her!"

"Oooh!"

Holly clutched the ball tighter. It was _Dudley's_ fault no one wanted to talk to her, not hers!

"If you want to play with someone, you can play with us," Malcolm said. "We're better than her."

"Yeah. She's just a dumb girl." Dennis sneered.

Holly could feel tears well in her eyes. She just wanted _one day_ where she would be left alone. Being noticed was never a good thing.

Kann tugged at her sleeve, whispering, "Come on Holly, let's go over there."

"We won't let you!" Dudley shouted. "Let's hit them!"

"Yeah!"

As they ran towards them, Kann pushed her away. "Stay behind me!"

_Where are the break monitors?_ "Help!"

"Shut up freak!" Dudley shouted as he pushed her to the ground.

"Back off!"

Dudley threw a punch and sent Kann down too. Piers, Malcolm and Dennis took turns kicking him while Gordon stopped anyone from getting close.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Holly shouted.

Dudley kicked her leg. "Shut up!"

"My word!" Ms Michaels shouted. The other kids scattered as she rushed over to them. "What on Earth happened here?"

"They started it!" said Dudley quickly, pointing a fat finger at her and Alex. His friends nodded.

"Dudley Dursley, I know full well that's a lie!"

Dudley quivered his lip. "But—!"

"No buts! You're in big trouble, and so are the rest of you!"

Holly couldn't help but grin when Ms Michaels sent Dudley and his friends inside. She looked really angry. Malcolm had even started crying!

"Ow," muttered the boy as he got up. His clothes were covered in dirt and his hair had grass in it. "That hurt."

Oh, right. Kann came to help her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Holly bit her lip. No one had _ever_ defended her against Dudley or his friends. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't care, and he scared everyone else away a long time ago. Maybe she was wrong about him.

"Dudley's a twit," he said, shaking grass out of his hair. "And so are his friends."

Everyone knows that, she thought, letting out a snort by mistake. Her eyes widened.

The boy laughed. "That was cool!"

"I'm not supposed to do that." Aunt Petunia said it was unladylike.

"So? It's still cool. Watch this." He stuck two fingers in his mouth, letting out a whistle she had heard from some of Uncle Vernon's old movies. "My Mum doesn't like it."

"And she still lets you?" asked Holly, surprised.

"Yeah. My dad doesn't care," he said as he sat down next to the tree.

After a moment of hesitation, she followed.

The boy's eyes widened as if she took out a gold bar from her pocket.

"What?" she asked when he wouldn't stop staring.

"You're sitting next to me."

"So?"

"Aren't you going to tell me to leave you alone?"

Holly shook her head. "No. I was thinking that...if maybe..."

"Yeah?"

But Holly couldn't say that she wanted to be friends. She'd been really rude to him since they met, and Dudley attacking him because of her wouldn't help. There was no way he'd say yes and then she'd look stupid. And girls and boys couldn't be friends. Could they?

"I still want to be friends with you," the boy said quietly.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I just want to."

"Well...okay," she said.

The boy grinned widely. His teeth were slightly crooked and one was missing. "My name is Alex." He held out a hand.

She shook it firmly like Uncle Vernon always told Dudley to do. "I'm Holly," she said, even though he already knew.

"What month is your birthday in?"

"July," she replied.

"Mine's in May. January, February, March, April, May! Hah! I'm older than you. That means you have to listen to me," Alex said proudly.

"No, I don't!" she shouted and jumped to her feet. Who did he think he was? "You can't tell me what to do!"

Alex looked confused. "What?"

She glared at him. "Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you can boss me around!"

"I'm not! I was just..."

"Just what?"

"Joking," he said, looking away from her. "I guess I'm not very good at it."

Holly felt her face grew warm. "Oh." She suddenly felt very silly.

"Sorry," he said.

There was silence for a long moment.

"Did you, um, want to sit back down?"

Holly sat. "I'm sorry too," she muttered, looking down at her shabby dress. She _hated_ saying sorry. Her Aunt and Uncle always made her apologize to Dudley, even when she didn't do anything wrong.

"It's okay," said Alex, still not looking at her.

They sat in uncomfortable silence until the bell rang.

"Um," began Alex, "Can I..."

"Can you what?"

"Can I sit next to you in class?"

"That's what you do every day already," said Holly, confused.

"Yeah, but you tell me to bugger off every time."

Holly shrugged. "If you want to, I guess." No one else was going to.

Alex beamed.

**~•~**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 11th September 2003 **

"Psst!" Alex mumbled when Ms Michaels turned to the chalkboard.

"What?" she whispered back for the first time.

"Do you play catch?"

"No," she replied and spared a glance at their teacher to make sure she didn't notice. "Do you?"

Alex nodded again. "It's easy."

"Can you show me?"

"Yeah, but we have to get a ball."

"Okay."

Ms Michaels glanced at the clock. "We'll continue when you get back from break," she said, then eyed Alex and Holly. "And a reminder that there's to be no whispering while you're working."

Holly felt herself grow warm. Alex gave a sheepish smile just before the bell rang.

They headed to the storage cupboard where all the play stuff was kept, dodging a crowd of students. Alex handed her a red ball and started tapping his foot.

"Are you okay?"

Alex pinched his face. "Um...I have to use the fa-cil-ities."

Holly frowned. Sometimes, Alex used big words only their teacher knew. "What does _that_ mean?"

He started hopping from foot to foot. "I have to go to the loo."

Ew. "I'll be at the tree."

"Okay."

She went outside. Everyone was already playing, but she knew Alex would be there soon. He was always 'punctual', which he said meant 'on time'. For a boy, he was okay. Alex made her laugh and have fun. He sat with her at lunch yesterday and helped her with their history work. He was really good at learning dates and places, and he didn't make her feel dumb.

Having a boy for a friend also kept Dudley from bothering her. For the rest of yesterday and today, he didn't look at her once. She hoped it would last by tomorrow. Ms Michaels gave out behaviour reports for the week every Friday afternoon, and she knew Dudley's wouldn't be good.

Alex ran over to her. "Back."

She tossed him the ball and sat under the tree. "How do you play?"

"Just toss the ball back and forth."

That was it? Holly thought it would be harder. "Oh, okay."

They took turns tossing the ball and talking.

"Why do you like space so much?" she asked him after he said that moonlight was really _reflected_ sunlight.

"It's really cool," he said. "It's really big and there could be people on other planets!"

Holly thought about it. A planet full of Dudleys would be terrifying. She shuddered. "Yeah, I guess." She tossed the ball back to him.

"So what do your parents do? My mum's a therapist and my dad's an engineer," said Alex proudly. "She helps people and he builds things."

Holly caught the ball and stiffened. "My parents are dead."

There was silence for a long moment.

"Oh," Alex finally said, shifting uneasily. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

She tossed the ball back.

Alex scratched his head. "So, um, who do you live with?"

"Dudley and his parents. He's my cousin."

Alex blinked. He looked between her and Dudley in shock before finally saying, "You two don't look alike."

Holly shrugged. She didn't know what her mum and dad looked like, so she had no way of knowing.

Alex watched him and his friends bother the year twos. "Is he like that all the time?"

"Yeah. My Aunt and Uncle give him whatever he wants," she replied crossly. She had to do everything right just so that they'd accept her, while Dudley could do whatever he wanted.

"Oh." He tossed the ball into the air a few times. "Why just use your powers to make him leave you alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the thing you did with the ball yesterday to make it go really high. It was in the air for a half a minute before it came back down."

He saw? Holly swallowed. "I don't know what you're talking about. It was only a few seconds."

"No, I saw it disappear," said Alex, frowning as he tossed her the ball. "It went really high."

"It was just a few seconds."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes, it was!" said Holly with a scowl, squeezing the ball tightly. "It only took a few seconds! You just weren't looking!"

"I—" began Alex furiously, then took a deep breath. "Fine. Yeah. Maybe it got stuck in the tree?"

Holly nodded quickly, tossing the ball back to him. "Yeah."

Neither of them mentioned it was less bouncy than it was before.

**~•~**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 12th September 2003**

"Is your aunt coming?" Alex asked after school.

Holly looked around. She didn't see Dudley or his friends anywhere. "I don't know."

"Don't worry. Mum can drop you off if she doesn't come."

She looked around again. Aunt Petunia picked up and dropped off Dudley every day. She took Holly too, even though she didn't want to because she didn't want to look bad. But if she got the report from Ms Michaels, she wouldn't want her in the car. She probably already left.

As much as she wanted to refuse, Privet Drive was three and a half miles from the school, and she wasn't completely certain of the way there.

"Alright," she said grudgingly, just as a grey car came into view.

"That's my mum," Alex said with a grin and pulled her up as he ran to it. "Mum! Mum! This is my friend, Holly."

The open window revealed a woman around her Aunt's age with chestnut hair and honey brown eyes. She looked at Holly with a kind smile. "Hello dear."

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Do you need a lift, Holly?"

"She does Mum," Alex said before she could reply. Holly shot him a dirty look.

"Do you know where you live?"

She nodded. "Privet Drive."

"That isn't too far from where we are. Let's get you home."

Mrs Kann was a better driver than Aunt Petunia, and they were in Little Whinging in no time at all.

"What's your house number?" asked Mrs Kann as she turned onto Magnolia Road. Like Privet Drive, it was full of large, square houses with perfectly manicured lawns, all owned by large, square owners who drove very clean cars similar to Uncle Vernon's.

"Four," she said. Riding in a car was much more relaxing when she didn't have to worry about Dudley pinching her.

Alex's mum turned onto Hazel Grove and made a right onto Privet Drive. Her stomach gave a funny lurch when she saw Aunt Petunia's car in the driveway.

"That's number four," she said and unbuckled her belt. "Thank you Mrs Kann."

"Not a problem, dear."

"See you Monday!" Alex waved as she slammed the door.

Holly waved back before she walked up to the house. She made sure they had driven away before she let herself in.

"Brat, get over here!" came Uncle Vernon's angry voice.

With a wince, she made her way into the kitchen. The Dursleys sat around the table with Dudley in the middle.

"We got a report from that teacher of yours. Saying our Diddydums and his friends beat up you and another student," said Petunia with a screech. "How dare you?"

That wasn't what happened, but Holly knew better than to say that. "I didn't lie, the teacher saw everything!" said Holly instead even though she knew they wouldn't believe her.

"She made that boy hit me!" Dudley quivered his lip. His eyes filled with fake tears. "And I didn't do anything!"

Dudley's whinging had convinced her Aunt and Uncle to send her to her room for the rest of the day. More than ever, she wished she could get away from Privet Drive.

**~•~**

**St. Grogory's Primary School, 24th October 2003**

"Morning Holly," said Alex cheerfully.

Holly glowered, watching Dudley run in before she took her seat. "Morning."

He looked over her. "Are you okay?"

Holly opted to cover her bruised and scraped knees rather than answer.

"What happened?"

"Belt up," she hissed.

"I just wanna know what's wrong," said Alex, looking upset.

Holly sighed. It wasn't Alex's fault. "Dudley pushed me out of the car because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't want to get him the Halloween costume he wants."

Alex turned to look at Dudley, who was laughing in a corner with the rest of his friends. "What did your Aunt say?"

"Nothing."

Alex looked confused. "But didn't she see him do it?"

"She doesn't care," said Holly, sinking in her seat when Ms Michaels came in.

For the rest of the lesson, Alex was very quiet. He didn't answer any questions or whisper anything to her. It was only when they left the classroom for break that he talked to her.

"Maybe you should go to the nurse," he said as they went outside.

She shook her head. Going to the nurse meant Aunt Petunia would be called and she'd get into trouble again. "It'll go away."

"But—"

"No. Please don't tell anyone?" Holly said, her eyes boring into his. "Just this once?"

Alex looked between her and Dudley, who was now bullying the year ones. He sighed. "Fine."

She let out a relieved breath. "Thanks Alex."

He didn't respond. They sat in silence under the tree, but it was nice. She took her time gathering the changing leaves around them and putting them into a pile.

"Wanna come to my house after school?" asked Alex suddenly.

Her stack fell over. "What?"

"Do you want to come over to my house after school?" Alex repeated, now more excited. "I wanted to ask earlier, but I kept forgetting."

Holly wasn't surprised at that. She couldn't help but feel doubtful though. "Really?"

"Yeah! I have all sorts of new toys!"

"New toys?" asked Holly in wonder. She never got new toys, or new _anything_ at that. All she had was broken, old stuff that nobody wanted anymore.

"Yeah, and I got a beanbag chair for my birthday. It has planets and stars on it."

"What's a beanbag chair?"

"It's..." Alex furrowed his brow, "a chair that you can sit on and it moves with you."

"Like play-doh?"

"Kinda. There's loads of tiny beads in it."

Now she was confused. "Isn't it itchy?"

"No, it's really nice to sit on."

"Oh."

"So will you?" Alex asked hopefully.

Holly frowned. "I dunno. My Aunt and Uncle won't let me."

"Why? It's Friday and we're friends. Friends go to each other's houses."

"I'm not allowed to have friends over."

Alex looked thoughtful for a moment before lighting up. "Yeah, to _your_ house, not _mine_," he said with a grin.

That wouldn't work with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. "They _still_ won't let me."

"But you don't have to tell them where you went."

Holly rolled her eyes. That would just be asking for no food for the weekend. "What if I say no?"

Alex gave her an unblinking stare. "Then I'll have to do this." He widened his eyes and pouted, resembling an adorable puppy.

Holly stared at him in disbelief. It was what Dudley did to get extra pudding at dinner or a new toy from the store, but _much_ cuter. She looked up and watched a red squirrel run across the branches.

_Maybe if I ignore it, he'll stop doing it. _She glanced back but he was still pouting, now with his head tilted to the side for extra effect.

"Knock it off," she said, feeling her conviction weaken by the second.

But Alex remained silent, still looking at her with puppy-dog eyes. Holly slouched against the tree. "Fine. You win."

He pumped a fist. "Yes! It worked!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an empty area on the pavement and smirked. "Come on," she said, pulling them both to their feet.

Alex stopped cheering and looked at her in confusion. "Why? Where are we going?"

"Spot's free," she said as she walked them over to the chalk bin. Holly examined a bright green piece casually before kneeling down.

"What do you—" Understanding came to his face. _"No."_

"Yes," said Holly as she drew the squares.

"But I'm a boy!"

"So?"

"Boys aren't supposed to play hopscotch!"

"And boys aren't supposed to be friends with girls!" she said. Holly knew that he couldn't—and wouldn't—argue with _that_.

Alex crossed his arms and looked between the court and her in silence. "...Fine," he finally said, not looking very happy.

Holly beamed. "I'll go get some stones!"

* * *

"What do engineers do?" she asked after she took a forkful of noodles. The choice to stay for dinner was easy. Mrs Kann had loaded her plate with as much food she wanted. Her plate was almost as full as Alex's! That _never_ happened at her house.

The drive to Alex's house was similar to going to hers', only shorter. They turned into a funny-shaped road called Magnolia Crescent and parked in the first house on the street. While a lot of the houses looked 'identical', his house was different. There were grey lined panels on the roof and small green bushes lining the path instead of flowers. The inside had wooden floors and light brown walls that made the house feel warm and welcoming.

Alex's room was what she expected, too. Space stuff everywhere, with a ceiling painted black that showed all "eighty-eight con-stel-la-tions" when it was dark outside. The beanbag chair was much more comfortable than he made it out to be. She was nearly asleep on it by dinnertime.

Mr Kann, Alex's father, looked surprised for a moment before cracking a grin. "An excellent question, Holly! It greatly depends on what you choose. Civil focuses on things that don't move, like bridges and buildings. Mechanical centres on things that do move, from components to machines to the human body itself."

"Wow, that's really interesting!"

"It is," he nodded. "There is some overlap between fields. Aerospace and mechanical, electrical and computer, chemical and petroleum...there are hundreds of different subsets."

She had no idea what any of that meant, so she asked, "What do you work as, Mr Kann?"

"I'm a mechanical engineer. We're currently creating satellites and researching interplanetary internet at Surrey Satellite Technology."

Alex perked up at that. "Interplanetary internet?"

Mr Kann went into detail about how a computer network would work in space with the speed of light delays and other problems, but Holly was more interested in the idea of creating things. It would be so cool to make things like flying cars and jetpacks, or even helpful stuff like a cloth that dried dishes on its own. Could she design a broomstick from a fairy tale to fly?

_That's ridiculous._ She wanted to shake her head but speared a meatball instead. If it was possible, someone would have done it already.

"So dad," began Alex, "can normal humans make things happen?"

Oh no. Holly's fork froze on the way to her mouth. Alex, you twit!

His father frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Like making things stay really high up in the air. I know that we saw—I mean, it happened on—um, yeah." He ate a meatball and stared down on his plate.

His parents didn't look pleased with what Alex had said. His father was giving her a strange look, and his mother looked pale. With a gulp, Holly speared a piece of broccoli. Nothing good could come out of this.

"Well, I'm going home," she said fifteen minutes later after polishing her plate. The silence had become too much. "Thank you for the food!"

Mrs Kann smiled. "I'll drive you home dear, it's a bit late to be walking."

Alex leapt from his seat. "I'll come too!"

"Alexander," his father said in a tone that reminded her of Uncle Vernon's whenever Dudley got into trouble.

"Or not." He sat back down.

Holly felt a pang of worry for him. "See you Monday."

"If I'm still alive."

* * *

"Where have you been?" started Petunia when she opened the door and saw Holly. "I won't have you—"

"Good evening, Mrs Dursley," said Mrs Kann with narrowed eyes.

Petunia stepped back. She clearly hadn't noticed there was another adult. "Brought her home now, did you? This one is always causing trouble."

"As a matter of fact, Holly has been a delight. My son invited her over and we're happy to have her," Mrs Kann said.

Petunia flustered. "Yes, well. I won't have her burden you any longer."

Holly stiffened. With the word 'burden' came _talks_ about how lucky she was that they decided to take her in and how grateful she should be.

Mrs Kann seemed to know that Aunt Petunia wasn't telling the truth. She pursed her lips. "Actually, we'd like to have her over again. My son's siblings are quite young and he needs friends his age. Especially after that Dudley boy attacked him."

Aunt Petunia went pale and Holly's eyes widened in disbelief. "Yes, well, if the girl—ahem, Holly, agrees, I suppose it's all right."

She looked between the two women and nodded slowly.

Mrs Kann smiled. "Then it's settled." She bent to her level. "You can call us if you need anything."

**~•~**

**Little Whinging Play Park, Magnolia Road, 25th March 2004**

_It's colder up here._ Holly shivered as she looked at the ground. She was going to be in _so_ much trouble.

"Holly?" called Alex from below. "Holly!"

She swallowed. It happened again. She had no clue why and now Alex was going to hate her once he found out how _strange_ she was.

Holly wanted to cry.

Alex huffed beneath her. He looked _tiny_. "You won, okay? Now come out! Mum said we have to go soon!"

"I can't," she whispered. She had no clue how high up she was.

"HOLLY!"

"Up here!" She was _never_ playing hide-and-seek again.

"Where? Keep talking so I can hear you!"

"In the tree! Help! I don't know what happened!"

Alex reached the base of the trunk and looked up. "Woah! How'd you climb that high?"

"I don't know!"

"Will you be able to get down?"

"No! Can you help me?"

"You're really high up!"

She gulped.

"Can you reach the next branch?"

Holly eyed one a few feet away. "I think so!"

"Try to climb to it!"

She calmed her shaky fingers and slowly made her way down.

"There's a few more," Alex said after she was safe. "One's only a few feet away."

They did it again and again. Alex pointed out strong branches for her to climb to and Holly slowly made her way to the ground. As she went further down, there were far fewer branches she could reach. Then, on the second to last branch, she slipped.

"No!"

I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, she thought, even as her friend rushed towards her. Holly felt something odd, though. The wind didn't rush past her anymore—she wasn't falling as fast as she thought she should. She touched the ground gently with a smile.

"I'm okay!" She turned to Alex.

He looked at her strangely, as if...well, as if she had flown. "You floated," he said matter-of-factly, his eyes wide.

Holly didn't know what to say. "Yeah."

Alex continued to eye her. "That had to be _at least_ a storey high."

She nodded timidly. She knew she should have some bruises, no less, from a fall that high. Her freakishness saved her. But what would happen now? Alex was still staring at her, his face oddly blank.

_He's going to leave. He's going to leave and be Dudley's friend now._

"That," began Alex slowly.

Holly tensed. _He's going to leave. He's going to leave. He's going to leave._

Then his face widened into a grin. "Was awesome!"

Relief filled her chest. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah!" nodded Alex eagerly. "You went from rushing to the ground to _floating!_ How'd you do it? Is that how Dudley's ball exploded? And how it took ages for the other one to get to the ground?"

She bit her lip. Could she tell him her secret? He was her best friend and it had been months and he still hadn't gone away. Dennis only lasted a few days. Angela and Corey didn't even last half an hour. If Alex was going to blab, he would have done it already. She could trust him.

"I...I don't know. Sometimes when I'm angry, or sad, or happy, things happen around me. I can't control it, it just happens."

Alex hmmed and put his left hand on his right elbow. He tapped his chin. "So you can't do it whenever you want?"

Holly shook her head.

"Have you ever _tried?_"

Another shake. "I wish I could. That'd be wicked."

He nodded as if she was a teacher who said something interesting. "I've got an idea. You could practice!"

"Practice?"

"Yeah! Like experiments my dad does. What did you want to happen when you were floating?"

Holly shrugged. "I just didn't want to fall."

"Is that what you were thinking?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to get hurt."

"Maybe that's what you need to do!" Alex's eyes sparked with excitement. "You have to really _really_ want it to happen!"

"I don't know if it'll work..."

"It's worth a go. Besides, if you can control it, maybe your Aunt won't be so mean to you."

That was good enough for her. "Okay."

Alex picked up a rock. "Alright, I'm going to toss it and you'll make it float."

Holly nodded.

"Catch!"

_Float, float, float. Please float._

Unmoved by her wishes, the rock fell to the ground.

"Don't worry," said Alex. "We'll figure it out."

"We?" said Holly in shock. She thought Alex would give her a few ideas but stay out of it. He wanted to help her?

"Well, yeah," Alex said with a shrug. "There has to be something about it somewhere."

With a happy smile, Holly hugged him as hard as she could. When she let go, Alex gave her a confused look.

"Why'd you hug me?" he asked.

"'Cause I was happy you're still my friend." Did she do something bad? "I'm sorry, I've never hugged anyone before."

Alex gasped. "Never?"

Holly shook her head. Petunia would always hug Dudley and kiss him on the cheek, but not her.

"Oh," Alex said. He frowned. "Well, I guess it's okay _sometimes_. But no one else can see. Boys don't hug."

Holly grinned and hugged him again. This time, he hugged her back.

**~•~**

**Kann house, 3rd July 2004**

"Uno," said Holly after placing a red seven.

Alex groaned and picked up a card from the deck. Holly grinned and put down a red four. "Uno out! I win again!"

"_I'll _shuffle this time," grumbled Alex as he used his foot to mix up the cards.

"I thought _winner_ got to mix-up."

Alex huffed, collecting them. "That was _before_ you won four times in a row."

She giggled as he arranged the deck. "This is fun. How'd you get the game?"

"Dad bought it at Tesco." Alex dealt out the cards. "You first."

Holly dropped a red five on the starting card. "How's summer?"

"Good! We're going to go on holiday soon." He placed a yellow five. "I can't wait!"

Holly paused with her hand on a yellow skip card. "Holiday? When are you going?"

"Next Saturday. My parents want to explore other...places."

She ignored the odd pause and placed the skip followed by a yellow five. "Even with the twins?" she asked as she referenced Alex's younger brother and sister Samuel and Rhea. They were adorable three-year-olds that always hid Alex's things. Holly found the sibling rivalry sweet.

Alex nodded, placing a blue five.

"When will you guys come back?" Holly asked, holding in a breath as she added a blue one.

"I dunno. Dad said he wants to spend at least two _weeks_ there, so that's"—he counted softly—"fourteen days." A green one.

Holly gasped. "That's half of the month!"

"I know. I asked if you could come, but my parents said—"

"I can't leave unless the Dursleys say so." Holly finished annoyed. "Right."

"I'm sorry," Alex said.

"Where are you guys going?"

He immediately looked off to the side. "No clue."

Holly rolled her eyes. "That's rubbish. You know _everything_." Alex had one of the highest grades in the class. His parents were Doctors, after all.

"No, I don't. Elizabeth scored higher on me on the last test." He frowned. "I was so close too."

"It was one point!"

Alex's competitiveness was something she'd never understand, but at least he wasn't _too_ obnoxious about it. She nudged him to get back to the topic at hand. "Where are you guys going?"

He looked at his cards. "I'm not supposed to say anything. Mum and Dad only told me because I said I'd keep it to myself."

"_Please?_ I won't tell _anyone_." Granted, she had no one to tell, but that had to count for something, right?

Alex looked at her, uncertain now. "You're not gonna believe me."

Holly put a card down. "Yes I will."

"You're _sure?"_

"Positive," Holly grinned and set her cards face down next to her. "Now tell me!"

"We're going into space," Alex said excitedly, forgetting the game entirely. "My dad rented a spaceship and we're going to visit all the planets and stuff. Seeing Mars should be fun and all, but I want to see _all_ of the Galilean moons. Did you know Jupiter's smallest moon, Europa, is covered in ice? Dad says that water might be under the surface! It'll be really cool to visit, don't you think? And then we're going to tour—"

"Wait a minute, did you say you're going to _space?_" asked Holly, confused. That was impossible.

But Alex seemed to think it was true and nodded so quickly she thought his head would fall off. "Yeah! I mean, there's not a lot there and we'll have to stay inside the ship because the gravity and at-mos-phere of some planets and moons, but Dad said I can add some rocks to my collection—"

"You don't have to lie to me," Holly snapped.

"What do you mean? I'm not lying!" defended Alex.

"Yes you are! You told me it's been almost five _years_ since the last spacewalk!"

"Yeah, but that was before dad told me about the spaceship."

"_Spaceship?_ People don't have spaceships! That's impossible!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

Alex crossed his arms. He looked angry. "I knew I shouldn't have told you about _my_ family holiday. It's not like you're going with us."

Holly reeled back as if slapped. _How could he?_ She felt sick. "Yeah? Well...well—"

"Well _what?"_ Alex said, challenging her.

"Don't bring it up then!"

Alex leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're just jealous."

With a snarl, Holly threw her cards in his face and stormed out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house.

_How could he? He's supposed to be my friend!_ Holly made her way down the Crescent. _If he thinks he can lie to me he can bugger off!_ She crossed the road and entered the Alley through Wisteria Walk.

She kicked a stone. Stupid Alex and his stupid space obsession! Everyone knew only grown-ups with special training could go into space. They had to train for years and years and _years_ and only a few people got the chance to go. Every single VHS tape they watched about space said that! He _told_ her that! Now he was lying to her and she hated it.

In her anger she'd crossed from Wisteria to Hazel Grove and was at Privet Drive. Both cars were gone.

_Good._

But deep down, she was hurt. She knew Alex and his family were a little strange, but they were always nice to her. She spent more time at number thirty than at number four and had even slept over more than once. Why would they lie to her? Was it because she wasn't part of the family?

Holly kicked off her shoes and fell back on the bed.

"I'm not jealous," she muttered as she wrapped herself in a thin sheet. "I'm _not_."

**~•~**

**Little Whinging play park, 28th July 2004**

Holly could feel her dress cling to her back. Her ice lolly was melting faster than she could eat it, and by the time she got to the park, a large chunk fell off the stick.

She glared at the half-melted treat. _That was a pound fifty._ She tossed the rest away and went to the play area. The swings were free, so she sat there. A few of her yearmates were there with their parents, running through the grass and playing catch. She began to move, going as high up as she could.

_I wonder what it would be like to fly? _she thought as a summer breeze drifted by. _Alex would—_

Holly stopped swinging. She wouldn't think about it. Weeks had passed since the fight and he hadn't apologized for lying to her. She would rather he didn't tell her anything at all instead of making something up.

"Holly?" a familiar voice asked.

She didn't turn around. "What?"

"Can—May I sit with you?"

Holly shrugged and he sat on the swing next to her. Neither looked at the other.

"I'm back," he said.

"Clearly." She began to swing again.

Alex followed. "Can I talk to you?"

"We are."

"Properly."

"Fine," she snapped, stopping for a second time. "What do you want?"

Alex took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for lying to you and calling you jealous. I shouldn't have."

She finally looked at him. He was far less cheerful and seemed sorry for what he did.

"Alright. Where did you really go then?"

"France," he said easily. "We saw the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and loads of other places." He pulled a postcard from his pocket. "See?"

She removed a sticky hand from the chain and held the card by its corners. A photo of the Eiffel Tower was on the back of it, along with a taped picture of him and his family, smiles on their faces as they stood in front of an odd, triangle-shaped building. The beauty of the background was clear even though she was looking through her smudged lenses.

Holly swallowed, handing the card back to him. "Okay."

_"And?"_

She looked at him in confusion. _What is he going on about—Oh. _She stared at the ground in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. For throwing cards in your face."

He patted her back. "It's okay."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Holly?"

"Yeah?"

Alex had an odd expression on his face, looking between her and the sky that was turning orange. "Um...did you want to get something to eat? Mum's picking up lamb curry."

She had never tried curry before. Uncle Vernon said it was too 'foreign'. "Okay."

**~•~**

**Kann House, 10th August 2004**

"I'll hide this time."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's your house and you know where all the good spots are."

Alex huffed and covered his eyes. "Fine. One, two, three, four..."

Holly rushed out, tiptoeing past the twins' room and down the stairs. Alex's mum had a patient so they weren't supposed to be playing loud games, but Alex had gotten bored with Uno and there wasn't much else to do.

She dismissed the kitchen and parlour as hiding spots. Outside wasn't an option. The closets were too easy.

"Coming down!" Alex whisper-shouted from the top of the stairway.

_Better hurry._ The house was larger than it looked. There had to be a spot _somewhere_.

She could hear pillows hit the ground as Alex looked through the sitting room.

Maybe he won't see my feet if I hide behind here? she thought, looking over the wall hangings. Footsteps came from around the corner and she quickly ducked behind one.

_That was close._ Holly turned to leave when she noticed the area she was hiding behind wasn't even with the rest of the wall.

"Why's there a door here?"

She turned the handle. It opened easily, revealing a dimly-lit dusty room.

There wasn't much inside. Other than an old record player, an ancient-looking answering machine and some boxes, the room was sparse.

Holly huffed. She had to go fifteen minutes without being found to win, so she was stuck here for a while. She looked through the box of old clothes. They looked like the stuff people used to wear a long time ago, but different. Like a really long coat that went all the way down and didn't open. Holly felt cooler after she tried it on even though it was heavy and too long for her.

The next box was full of old-fashioned books. One title caught her eye.

_SO YOUR CHILD IS A SQUIB! by Idris Oakby_

"Squib?" _That_ was a strange word. She fixed her glasses and read further.

_A Comprehensive Guide created by Squibs for Squibs to pursue their passions to the best of their abilities._

_What is a Squib?_

A Squib is a non-magical person with two magical parents. They are very rare.

_Can Squibs learn magic?_

Unfortunately not, but they are capable of seeing through Muggle-Repelling enchantments and caring for magical creatures!

_Can Squibs go to Hogwarts?_

Hogwarts does not accept non-magical children. They can be accepted as janitorial staff at Hogwarts upon reaching the legal age of an adult (17 in the Wizarding world, 18 in the Muggle world). They can also be accepted as a member of staff, such as a Muggle Studies teacher!

_What options do Squibs have?_

There are plenty of options for a Squib in the magical world! Education and career opportunities lie in the Muggle world, but in the magical world Squibs can become secretaries or cleaning staff, or if they're really ambitious, a Muggle Studies specialist, or more!

_Magic? Magical creatures? Hogwarts?_ Holly put down the book. Her head was spinning. Magic was real? Was what she could do magic? Was that why her relatives hated her? She could do _magic?_

She needed to find out more. Most of the books only yielded more Squib stuff, except for one thin title: _Magical Concepts Made Easy by —_

"Huh, this door's always locked," a voice said.

She slammed the book shut with a yelp. "Alex!"

"Sorry," he replied, but his grin showed he wasn't sorry at all. "You won." Then he frowned. "What's that?"

Holly stood from her crouch and told him everything.

Alex didn't look convinced. "So you think you're a witch?"

"How else would you explain everything?"

He paused. "But magic isn't real."

Holly crossed her arms and huffed. "You think _aliens_ exist."

Alex glared at her but didn't say anything.

"Look, try this on," she said, taking off the robe. "It's really cool."

"I'm _not_ wearing a dress."

"It's not a dress!"

"How would you know?"

"I just know!" She stamped her foot. "Look, just put your hand in it and you'll see."

Alex rolled his eyes but slipped his hand in the sleeve. His eyes widened in shock. "Woah."

"See? I told you," said Holly smugly. "It's a _magical_ robe."

Alex looked bewildered. "That's not possible."

"But it is! And look at this." She picked a book and handed it to him.

"_My Life As A Squib_ by Angus Buchanan? What's a Squib?"

"Someone born without magic. But they have a magical mum and dad," explained Holly.

"Or," corrected Alex briefly as he looked at the Oakby book. "So my mum or dad is a...Squib?"

"Or both of them." She put on a pointy hat. "That's why they have all this magic stuff. What are you doing?"

Alex shifted his armful of books. "We have to learn more, don't we? I don't think mum or dad is going to tell us anything, and we might not be able to get in here again."

"Okay." Holly picked up _Magical Concepts_ eagerly. "We're reading this one first."


	2. Prologue Part II

**Thanks to Mojo, Chuck, N. Chan, P. Peters, ****Malvika R, and Anon users on Discord for giving this a look.**

**Weirdhunterangel also has my thanks again. **

**Prologue Part II: After the Discovery**

**Figg Residence, 23 Wisteria Walk, 31st October 2004**

"Oh! Doesn't Tufty look absolutely _adorable_ in that bonnet?" cooed Ms Figg. Holly was sitting on the floor in front of the armchair, holding one the many cat albums the lady had put together.

"He looks...nice," Holly said, wishing she could leave. She took a quick glance outside and saw several of her yearmates walking around with their parents with bags full of sweets. Just like every other year.

Time to put Alex's plan into action.

"Um, Ms Figg?"

The woman turned her watery eyes to her. "Yes dear?"

"I have to go to the loo."

"The restroom, dear," she corrected. "Very well."

Holly rushed in and locked the door. That went easier than she thought it would. She eyed the only window in the room, right above the toilet.

_"First, you have to get away from Ms Figg. Say you have to go to the loo or something."_ Alex had said earlier that day as he planned her escape from Ms Figg. _"Is there a window? What floor is it on?"_

Holly had tried to remember. _"Yeah, there is_. _It's on the ground floor."_

_"Good. You'll jump out and—"_

_"From the window!?"_

_"Duh. That's how you'll get out without her seeing!"_

_This shouldn't be too hard._ The sun was almost down and the loo was facing away from the street, so she wouldn't be seen easily. She unlocked the window and climbed on the toilet.

_Here goes!_ She landed on the grass with an _Oof!_ Her control with 'accidental magic' was _still_ shaky.

"Ow." She wiggled one of her loose teeth.

"Holly?" came Ms Figg's muffled voice. "Have you finished? It's time for tea and biscuits!"

She ran off.

_"Then you just have to come over. You know where my house is, right?"_

_"Er—"_

_"Magnolia Crescent, the last house down. Number Thirty, remember?"_

_Holly nodded._

Thankfully Ms Figg's house was close to the Alley. She crossed the road, took the shortcut and entered the Crescent, doing her best to blend in with the other trick-or-treaters.

_I hope Dudley and Aunt Petunia don't see me_, she thought as she made her way down the pavement. It didn't seem that far by car, but walking took forever. She looked down every time she thought she saw a year-mate and narrowly avoided another before reaching number thirty.

"You made it!" said Alex happily when he answered the door. "Come on, Mum has your costume ready."

"What are you going as?" she asked. He was wearing loose-fitting tan pants, an over-tunic and a cloak with a hood.

"Luke Skywalker," he said, right before the twins ran past them. "Oi! Watch it!"

The toddlers giggled.

"Hi!" one of them said.

"Hello, um..."

"Rae!"

"Rhea. Hello."

The brown-haired girl pouted.

"Don't mind her. She and Sam are just jealous they can't go with us," he said, guiding her towards the second sitting room.

"What am I going as?"

"A witch."

Holly stopped in her tracks. "Are you _mad?_ What if your mum finds out?"

"Mum thought up the costume, not me," he said, raising his hands in defence.

Still unconvinced, she asked, "She hasn't found the books, has she?" Over the last two months they had read _Magical Concepts_ multiple times, along with several of the Squib books. It painted a somewhat unfriendly picture of the Wizarding world but they were curious to learn more. There was just something about it that made it so, in Alex's words, 'cap-ti-vating'.

Alex shook his head. "Nah, I hid them pretty well. Besides, what are the chances of her going into the room?"

The chances seemed pretty good, in her opinion, but there wasn't much she could do. Hiding it with the Dursleys wasn't an option. "I guess," she muttered.

"So," said Alex as he took out his lightsaber and posed in a heroic stance. "Are you ready to begin on our mission, oh wise witch?"

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that came to her lips. "What is this mission?"

"To collect as many sweets as possible!"

* * *

They'd been out for two and a half hours and had gathered a sizable amount of sweets—and pennies, for some reason—before heading back.

Alex was very pleased. "Good haul this year," he said, dumping his lot on the sitting room floor. "Much better than last year's."

"Just don't overdo it," Holly snorted. Last year had revealed his serious sweet tooth.

He paused. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not with sweets."

Alex shook his head and started counting. "Let's see, twenty eggs, twenty-five packets of wine gums, three boxes of Smarties, six lollies..."

Meanwhile, the twins walked into the room, looking over the sweet collection in delight.

"Ooh, can I have one?" asked Sam, pointing at a lolly.

"No."

"Pweese?"

"No," repeated Alex. "Three Starbursts." He eyed a Terry's Chocolate Orange with delight. "One box of chocolate orange, six galaxy bars—"

"Can _I_ have one?" asked Rhea.

"I said no," Alex snapped. "Five dairy milks, eight jelly babies, four Mars' bars, two flake bars—"

Holly brightened. "Oh, can I have one of those?"

Much more nicely, he said, "Yeah, sure, just let me finish. Three rock sticks and loads of crisps." He shook his empty bag to check for leftover sweets. "I think that's everything."

"_Now_ can I have one?"

Alex checked his sweets. "No. Stop bothering us."

Sam pouted.

"Maybe we should give them one," Holly said, reaching into her own bag and taking out two lollies. "Here."

"Thank you!" they said in unison.

He shrugged and tossed a deformed Mars' bar to the side. "Your loss."

"Tastes funny," said Sam, who had easily taken off the wrapper of the sweet.

Alex snapped his head up. "What do you mean, funny?"

Sam stopped licking. "Like sick."

"Stop eating it," Alex said, hopping to his feet.

"No! Mine!"

Rhea, who had torn the last bits of wrapper off her's, smiled. "Yummy!" She licked.

"No, stop eating it!"

"It's mine!"

"No!"

Alex was trying to get the sweets away from them while Holly looked on in confusion. "What's going on?"

"You're supposed to check the sweets to make sure they aren't messed with! Hand them over!"

"No!"

Holly's stomach dropped. She didn't know that. Did Dudley ever check his, or does Aunt Petunia take care of it? Either way, she had to do something.

"Sam, Rhea, Alex has to take those back."

They shook their heads. Alex looked like he was about to lose his temper.

"Come on, give them to me," she held out a hand, and to her surprise, the lollies jerked out of their hands and into her's.

For a brief, fleeting moment the twins gaped at her before screaming and running out of the room.

Alex blinked, looking between her and the door his siblings ran out of. "Well, this isn't good."

**~•~**

**4 Privet Drive, 25th December 2004**

Holly stared at the hot roast that had splattered on the floor. _Aunt Petunia will kill me._ If she didn't, Aunt Marge would.

The pan was too hot for her to carry and she didn't see the oven gloves anywhere and Aunt Petunia pushed her into the kitchen to take the roast beef out of the oven and now she was in big trouble. Someone would walk in any minute and they'd kill her. "Very expensive, that roast", Uncle Vernon had said multiple times.

She wanted to use magic, but her 'attempts' were 'inconsistent', according to Alex. Most of the time she couldn't make anything happen, but when it _did,_ things would go completely out of hand. Having the Christmas roast splattered all over the floor _and_ ceiling would only make things worse.

"Yes, yes, the girl's getting it out of the oven." Holly heard Aunt Petunia say from behind the door.

Please, please, _please_ work, she thought, trying not to panic and make an even bigger mess as her footsteps came closer. The pan stubbornly remained on the floor. Holly wanted to cry. What good was having magic if you couldn't use it when you really needed to?

Taking a deep breath, Holly aimed her hands at the pan, imagining the roast being how it was supposed to be, upright and on the counter. She _knew_ she could do it. She _wanted_ it to happen. She could _picture_ it. _Slow and steady. Think about what the book said. Belief, desire and focus. Belief, desire and focus._

It was as if she had pressed 'rewind' on a VCR—the pot roast and all its juices and vegetables floated back into the pan, reversing from its upside-down state. The floor was clean again.

Now for the hard part. Holly pulled into how she felt before, the feeling that everything _had_ to go right and raised her hands again. She imagined the roast rising onto the kitchen table. She _wanted_ it to. It _had to_.

Sluggishly, the pan obeyed, lowering itself on the table with a clang just as Aunt Petunia opened the door.

She narrowed her eyes. "It's taken you long enough," she grabbed the pan, touching the handle for a moment before letting go with a hiss.

_Oh no._ Holly winced. It was still hot. Aunt Petunia would be upset with her like anything if she found out the roast had been on the floor, or that she had used magic.

Aunt Petunia stared at Holly dubiously for a moment before going to the highest pantry, the one she and Dudley couldn't reach.

She put on a new pair of gloves and snapped, "Wash up," before leaving.

_It worked! It really worked!_ Holly let out a relieved sigh. She knew by the time she was finished the roast would be mostly gone and Aunt Marge would insult her, but none of that mattered. She was _safe_.

The exhaustion was well worth it.

**~•~**

**Kann House, 4th June 2005**

"Steady, steady..."

Holly felt her arms ache. "Am I close now?"

"Almost. It has to go on the hooks right, or else it'll fall."

But she had never spent such a long time holding something so heavy in the air. She lowered the model of the solar system onto his desk with a sigh. "I can't do it."

"Holly—"

She collapsed on the beanbag chair. "It's too heavy. And it's your birthday gift."

"So?"

"_So?_ You've wanted it since _Christmas_!"

Alex gave a nonchalant shrug from his place on top of the bookshelf. "I changed my mind."

"Well, so have I."

"You couldn't even lift a rock—"

"It was a pebble—"

"—A year ago. Now you can."

"There's a difference between a pebble and _that,_" she said, pointing at the model.

He shrugged. "If you really think you _can't_ do it, I won't force you to."

"Good, so what do you want..." she trailed off, then narrowed her eyes and said, "What do you mean, _can't_?"

"Well, the book said that most adults aren't able to do wandless magic, so if it's _insurmountable_, I understand."

Holly glared at his carefully blank face. It stunk of a set-up but she wasn't going to let it stand. "You're a prat," she said as she got up.

Alex grinned, showing a partially regrown tooth. "That's not what my marks say."

She closed her eyes. The lessons from the book were simple: belief, desire and focus were the bare bones of spellcasting. The other parts, like skill, came with practice.

"Alright."

She opened her eyes, pointing her hands at the model. Tapping into the same feeling she had when lifting the roast was easy, but the model was harder. There were a lot of moving parts, they were heavier, and she had to make sure everything was up at the same time. All the strings holding them had to be hooked to the ceiling one after the other, but after she'd hook one, another one would come undone.

"Think about how it would feel to carry them," suggested Alex.

She grit her teeth. "It doesn't _work_ like that. I have to lift it with my magic."

"How?"

She attached another loop. "I don't know, it's what the book said!"

Alex eyed the hooks again. "Okay, just one more right here..."

Pinpointing the right hook, she magically slipped it on and dropped her arms. The entire model moved precariously and Alex stuck a hand underneath, just in case.

When it stopped swinging he grinned. "Awesome! Thanks Holly!"

Holly wiped her sweaty brow and let out a breath. "That wasn't so bad."

"That's because you were angry at me."

"Huh?"

"Whenever you get angry, your magic seems to get really potent. Remember the eggs?"

Holly felt herself grow warm at the reminder. "That was an accident!"

"Anger's pretty powerful. I wonder why the book didn't mention it."

"It was really old. Maybe they found that bit out later."

"Maybe." Alex hummed, and put a hand on his chin. "Maybe Mum can get more books for us."

The Kanns had taken the knowledge of magic and the Wizarding World fairly well. Or at least, Mr Kann did. Alex's mum had confirmed to them that yes, she was a Squib, Holly was a witch, and a lot of the things in the books were true, but she wouldn't tell them anything else. At least she let them keep the books they had already read.

Holly yawned. "I'm getting something to eat."

"Hey, aren't you going to help me down from here?"

"You climbed up by yourself, but if you think it's..._in-sur-mount-able_ then _maybe_ I'll help when I get back," she said with a smirk as she left the room.

~•~

**4 Privet Drive, 15th April 2006**

"How much further?" asked Alex as they crossed Hazel Grove.

"Only one more street." She pulled the sleeves of her new jumper over her hands. "It's on Privet Drive."

Like Magnolia Crescent, all the houses in their suburbia were fairly similar. But while you could generally tell who-lived-where on Crescent, Wisteria Walk and Hazel Grove, Privet Drive was eerily identical. If not for the house numbers and the different flowers—or lack thereof—you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"Well, here we are," she said when they reached number four.

Alex glanced at the perfectly manicured lawn. "Looks kind of boring to me."

"It is," she agreed, then gave a conspiratorial smirk. "Still wanna see inside?"

"Lead the way."

The door opened on her third try of casting _Alohomora_. She knew Number Four was fairly bog-standard compared to Alex's home, but there was a thrill to exploring the place while the Dursleys were away for Easter.

"Your house is really..." Alex looked around as if he would find something nice to say out of thin air, "clean?"

"Very _articulate_. My aunt loves to clean." _And make me 'help' her._

Alex rubbed his chin with one hand while running the other along the spotless counter. "I see."

Upstairs yielded similar results. Dudley's room was surprisingly tidy while her room was sparse in comparison. If Alex noticed, he didn't say.

"Well, that was dull."

Holly shrugged as they walked out. "You wanted to see. _Colloportus_."

Nothing happened.

She pointed at the lock again, moving her finger in the proper motion. "_Colloportus!_"

The door slowly sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

Alex gave a silent round of applause. "It only took you two tries!"

Holly let out a breath. "Yeah. Not bad for four months of practice."

Learning magic was easier now that she had spell diagrams and an actual book to work from. It helped her focus better on what she wanted to happen. Charms were her favourite. Other than making things float and locking and unlocking doors, she'd been able to create fire and mend the secondhand clothes Petunia gave her. It was really useful.

Transfiguration was the opposite. The spells didn't make sense. When would she _ever_ need to turn a matchstick into a needle? And nothing she did stayed for more than a few minutes—if she was lucky. She couldn't understand why it wasn't working. She was following all the rules and tried not to get too upset when the spells didn't work. Maybe she just needed to be older—or have a wand.

"Christmas was—" began Alex.

"Less than four months ago, I know. I was trying to be _succinct_," said Holly with a look.

"Alright then. What do you want to do?"

"What do _you_ want to do?"

"Well, there's the park, but mum or dad might want to take us."

"Pass."

"We could play Galactic Civilization? Or Civilization IV?"

"Didn't you already beat both of them?"

"Yeah, but it's still fun."

"But if you've already won once, doesn't it make it a little dull?'

Alex let out a long-suffering sigh that made her regret her gift-giving decision last year. "The games don't work like that. Most games, you can only win one way. In Galactic Civ, the final goal is to rule the galaxy, but you can win in different ways. War is what everyone likes to choose, but you can also win by overpowering other cultures, international relations, or with advanced technology."

"Let me guess...you chose the international stuff?"

Alex nodded. "The second time. I used technology the first time."

"So what's the difference between Galactic Civ and Civ IV?"

"Galactic Civ goes straight into space while Civ goes through history. You have to lead an empire and be the first one to send a colony ship into space. That's how I won."

"And how long did _that_ take?"

Alex waved a hand in a sideways motion. "Oh, maybe two weeks."

_"Weeks?"_

**~•~**

**Kann House, 23rd June 2006**

"No," said Alex, crossing his arms. "Absolutely not."

"Please? It'll be fun!"

"I'm not going to wear nail polish."

Holly scowled. He was being such a baby about this! "That's not fair, we always do what _you_ want to do!"

Alex shifted in his beanbag chair and gave her a look. "Boys _don't_ wear nail polish."

"But it's _summer!_ No one will even see!" she stamped her foot.

"Doesn't matter, 'cause I don't want to."

"It's _clear! _It'll just look shiny!"

"Nope."

She widened her eyes and pouted. "_Please_?"

"Hey, you aren't supposed to do that!" Alex protested. She widened her eyes more. With that, he pointedly looked at the ceiling.

_Now you know how it feels,_ she thought, continuing to pout. More than once he had gotten his way with this trick. Now she was returning the favour. "Please Al? I saved all my money for _weeks_ to buy it!"

"Don't care."

"I'll be your best friend!"

"You already are."

"That's why you should join! It's no fun if you're by yourself. Just this once. Please?"

Pleading green eyes met wary hazel ones. "If I say yes, will you stop doing that?"

She nodded.

"Fine."

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hugged him tightly. Alex reluctantly patted her back. "Come on, we have to wash our hands."

"Why?" he asked as she pulled him out of the chair.

"So that the polish sticks, silly! Oh! And bring your mum's nail clippers too!"

"I have my own."

Holly gave him a surprised look. Dudley never cut his nails, he bit them off.

"What? Mum showed me how to cut nails on my birthday."

"Even better! We can do our feet too."

"Check this out," Holly said after they had trimmed. She unscrewed the handle of the nail polish and pointed at the bottle. _"Wingardium Leviosa."_

The brush steadily lifted into the air to paint on Alex's big toe.

"I thought you didn't need to say the words," he said with a note of fascination.

Holly shrugged; the brush moved to the next digit. "It's easier with the words. Without them, I have to focus a lot more on what I want to happen."

Chapter three of _Magical Concepts_ clearly said that incantations and wand movements were just tools that helped mould the caster's will.

"Mum calls it the 'placebo effect,'" Alex had said when they read the chapter.

Alex hummed in agreement, snorting when the cold varnish touched his skin. "How many charms can you do?"

"Seven," she said proudly. "Transfiguration is really tricky. I have to get everything right the first try or two and I get really tired after. I know it's because things like to keep their shape and all, but it's so..."

"Frustrating? Vexing? Irritating?"

She snorted. "All of them. I can't _wait_ to get my wand."

"Just thirteen months left to go now."

"Thank Merlin." She swiped her finger downward, painting his big toe with a single gesture.

"How're the Dursleys?"

Holly shrugged. "Dudley's birthday is today. They went out."

"Let me guess, they sent you to Ms Figg?"

"Yeah, but I escaped. Unlocked a few of the cat cages and she was so busy getting them back inside I was able to get away."

Alex eyed his foot with a slight grimace as she swiped one final time. "Bully for you."

"Hold still." She twirled her finger in front of her mouth, chilling her breath in the process as she exhaled. The air went a few degrees cooler for a moment before returning to the ambient temperature. She gently tapped his pinky toe, giving him a happy smile when the varnish proved dry. "And done!"

"Finally. I suppose it's my turn then?" he said, taking the bottle. "Which hand?"

Holly held out her left. He painted with meticulous precision, careful not to get any polish on her skin. It was nice to have someone care about her like this. She'd long ago given up on the Dursleys ever doing so.

She examined the finished hand with approval. "And you didn't want to paint."

"I _don't_," Alex said, his face turning red. "It's _girly_._"_

Holly rolled her eyes. _Boys!_ "Well _I_ don't like playing Civ IV. It's such a _boy_ game."

"You don't?"

"Well, it's not all bad," she amended at Alex's hurt expression. "But you always win."

"Not always!"

He winced at her accusing stare. "Okay, maybe I do win a lot."

"And you always try to show me how to play," she huffed. "It's not that hard."

"You weren't playing right!"

"And you did the diplomacy parts for me!"

"I just think you could have gone about it a different way," he said. "Jumping into battles is not the way to win."

Holly rolled her eyes. "It's a _game_, Alex. God, it's not the end of the world if I don't win. Not everything has to be perfect, you know."

Alex looked at his less-than-perfectly painted nails and fingered them. He smiled at her. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am," she said, giving him a hug that he happily returned.

**~•~**

**Kann House, 3rd August 2007**

"I still can't believe Dudley got a pig's tail! What did that Hagrid bloke say again?"

Holly gleefully mimicked Hagrid's words and tone. "'He was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do'."

Alex chuckled again. "Wish I could have seen it."

"Yeah, Petunia was _livid_ once she found out I already knew about magic. Vernon passed out."

"Serves them right."

"Yeah," Holly said, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"Petunia and Vernon knew I had magic."

"They did? For how long?"

"Since I was brought there after my parents were killed. Before that, even. Petunia knew all about Hogwarts. My mum went there too." She scowled. "She knew this whole time and didn't say anything."

The snacks on the counter shook dangerously.

"Well that's not your fault," said Alex, putting a hand on her shoulder. "She's a rancorous woman."

She stared down at her fists. "I know but...they should have told me. I spent years wondering why I was so different, why I could do all these things, why they hated me so much, and it turns out they knew this whole bloody time."

Alex gently patted her back, not saying a word as she embraced him. Holly took deep breaths, trying not to cry. For years she knew that the Dursleys weren't trustworthy and that most of what they said were lies, but she didn't think they'd lie to her about her parents' deaths. She should have known better.

After a few minutes she pulled away. "Thanks."

"No problem."

She sighed. "I don't think they'll take me to the station."

"Don't worry, I'll ask mum and dad."

Holly gave him a weak smile as they gathered their snacks and headed upstairs. "Thanks. Where are your parents anyway?"

Alex brightened as he sat in bed. "Some sort of convention. Dad's been working on this solar battery that's supposed to store loads of power. How it works is that solar panels collect a ton of energy but most people with them can't use all of it. So the battery stores the extra power that can be used later on, like at night or during blackouts. It can hold up a month of energy when it's full."

"So you won't have to pay for power anymore?"

He frowned. "Well, it still costs a lot to get it working. Dad doesn't know if people will want to buy it yet."

"Well, it's still brilliant. Where is he going to sell them?"

"Mostly abroad. The weather here isn't the best for solar."

Holly relaxed on the beanbag as he took out his laptop. "I haven't seen the twins running around. How'd you get them to stay so quiet?"

"That's 'cause I dosed them. Mum keeps a bit of sleep potion hidden away. I put some in their milk," Alex smirked, putting in a CD, "had them out like a light. They'll wake when mum and dad come back."

Holly nodded, thoughtful. Maybe she could do the same to Dudley.

They spent the better part of two hours playing video games—which she was getting better at—and talking about magic. Holly eagerly recounted her trip to Diagon Alley and agreed to bring him her history textbook and her owl. Then the conversation turned to Hogwarts.

"Potions should be really fun to work with, don't you think, with all the unknowns?"

"I thought you were interested in engineering," he said as he gently ran his fingers through her hair, having joined her on the chair.

"Yeah, but it'll take years to make something useful. Potions are more..." she waved a hand casually, unable to find the right word.

Alex hummed.

"Still learning how to braid?" she asked, feeling him lift a section of hair away from the rest.

"Yup."

"Rhea will be happy you're still trying."

His hands moved upwards. "I guess."

Letting the feeling of someone attending to her wash over, Holly thought about how much she was going to miss it. The delicious home-cooked meals, playful banter, the freedom to ask as many questions as she wanted, a place to learn and control her magic...

She hadn't expected anything like this. Alex was the best friend she could have asked for, even if he was a boy. Sure, they had a few rows over stupid stuff, but he was still her best mate. How would he take her leaving? He seemed excited for her, but—

"All done," he said, nudging her from her thoughts. There was an unmistakable note of pride in his voice.

Holly got up from the beanbag chair and admired the braids in front of the wall mirror. Her chest-length hair was divided into six neatly pleated braids, framing her fringe quite nicely.

"It's fantastic," she said as she collapsed back in the chair. "Great work."

"Thanks," he replied, getting up to grab his laptop. "Up for another game?"

Holly looked out the window and saw the darkening sky. "Nah, I should probably get going. Best not to piss off the Dursley's."

"Yeah," he said reluctantly, picking up a book from his bedside table instead and collapsing on the bed.

"Al?"

"Hmm?" He flipped a page.

Holly paused, then voiced a question that had been on her mind for ages. "You know I won't forget about you at Hogwarts, right?"

Alex turned another page more slowly than before, his face unusually blank. "I wouldn't blame you if you did. It's magic."

"So?"

"Mum says that people who grow up..." he paused, _"'Muggle'_ forget their old friends."

"I won't."

He didn't seem convinced and put down his book. "You say that now, but who really knows?"

"I do!"

Alex still looked uncertain.

She sighed. "What will it take to convince you?"

"Well, maybe you could find a way for me to visit?"

Holly smiled. "I think I can manage that." Hogwarts lasted for seven years. There had to be at least one occasion the Muggle-born and raised could have their parents and siblings come to the castle.

**~•~**

**King's Cross Station, 1st September 2007**

As Alex had promised, his parents agreed to drive her to the station on September 1st. There was a bit of a hiccup on getting through the stone wall, but they all made it in one piece. Mr and Mrs Kann were talking to other Muggles while the twins ran around mischievously.

"So, I suppose this is it, huh?" Alex shuffled after he helped her load her trunk into a compartment. Holly nodded slowly, her—Alex's—hat bobbing up and down to hide her scar. She didn't want a repeat of what happened at The Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid. Footsteps sounded everywhere as parents and children hurried around, loading trunks and finding seats.

"I'll miss you," she said, staring at her feet. "What if I don't make any friends?" After all, it had taken weeks _and _getting beaten up by Dudley to make the only friend she had now.

"Holly," he began, putting his hands on her shoulders, "you'll make friends. And if it ever gets too much, you can always send a letter with Hedwig." He stroked said bird from its place on his shoulder.

Holly met his eyes. "That'll take forever!"

Hedwig hooted almost indignantly before flying off.

Alex smirked and she knew he had something up his sleeve. "Not with this!"

A palm-sized PDA with wooden accents was placed into her hand. It was similar to the ones on TV the Dudley asked for, but clearly better-made.

"Dad and I worked all month to put it together." He beamed. "What do you think?"

She didn't say a word as she admired the hard work. Wood wasn't used much in electronics anymore. To be able to carve a piece to meld so seamlessly with the electronics without damaging either piece was nothing short of amazing. Trying not to burst into tears, Holly hugged him as hard as she could.

"Thank you so much," she said as she pulled away. "You guys are brilliant!"

Alex flushed. "Yes, well, you'll tell me everything?"

Holly laughed, nodding. "Of course." She was still nervous about going to Hogwarts, but she always knew he would be there for her. He looked around as his parents corralled the twins into one place. The train whistle blew.

Their smiles faded.

"Better get on before someone takes your compartment," said Alex as he glanced at a redheaded group of boys rushing into the train.

The truth of the moment finally hit her. She was _leaving_. For _months_. "Yeah." She fingered the hat again.

Alex nodded and let out a breath. "Well, get on then."

"Okay," she nodded back, still hesitant. She wanted to go—this was her parents' world, her birth world—truly, she did, but her nervousness wouldn't go away.

As if he knew what she needed, Alex pulled her into a hug. This was the first time she could remember _him _hugging _her_; he'd never initiated.

"Thanks," she said as they separated.

He smiled, then looked up as steam started to bellow. His face steeled. "You have to go."

Holly nodded, reaching into her pocket and taking out the nine-and-three-quarters ticket Hagrid had given her. "So you can find your way back," she explained as she handed it to him.

Alex nodded, almost pushing her towards one of the entrances. "Thanks, now go!"


End file.
